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Commentary

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda...

“In today's 24-hour news cycle, traditional survey data is outdated by the time it's even collected. Traditional market research usually takes 6-7 weeks, useless for reacting
to breaking news and helping brands navigate a crisis,” according to market research expert John Papadakis, CEO of mobile survey platform Pollfish.

Mobile surveying
and micro-targeting are quickly becoming the industry standard for gathering market intelligence in real-time, but many brands are notoriously slow at adopting new technology, says the report.
According to Papadakis, in his words, three recent scandals highlight why 24-hour market research could save brands in crisis:

1. The O'reilly
Scandal: Mercedes, H&R Block, And Jenny Craig

Fearing guilt by association, dozens of brands pulled their ads from The O'Reilly Factor after the sexual
harassment scandal. By running a quick micro-targeted survey on how the scandal was actually affecting their brand, they could have foreseen collateral damage
and potentially saved marketing dollars.

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2. The Passenger Abuse Debacle: United And American Airlines

These brands faced serious backlash over the way
they treated their passengers. The way their CEOs handled the fall-out generated even more negative attention. Had they run surveys asking customers which reparations they could
offer as compensation, they could have avoided boycotts.

3. The 2016 Election: The Democratic Party

Almost all the polls failed to predict the results of the
2016 election. If Hillary Clinton's campaign had run mobile surveys, it would not have been as blindsided by the final results. It would have read the sentiments of audiences traditional
surveying doesn't reach, and adjusted its strategy accordingly.